This story is part of a statewide partnership of more than 30 nonpartisan newsrooms and universities working to help Florida voters make informed decisions in the 2026 elections. Learn more about the Florida Elections Reporting Partnership at floridaelections.org.

What a difference two months made for Linda Cothiere, who won the Miami-Dade School Board District 1 seat Tuesday.

Cothiere, 58, received 51.7% of the vote to defeat Katrina Wilson, 63, who had been favored and ultimately received 48.3% of votes. She is the first Haitian American to be elected to school board of one of the nation’s largest school districts.

Wilson had been endorsed by the former District 1 board member who resigned to run for the Miami-Dade County Commission. Wilson also outspent Cothiere.

And it was a tale of two races.

In August, Cothiere received just 21% of votes.

The race also featured two candidates who are graduates of Miami Carol City High. They campaigned on their commitment to education and transparency in a district that represents a large swath of northern Miami-Dade County, including the cities of Miami Garden, Opa-locka, a share of North Miami and unincorporated Miami-Dade.

Cothiere and Wilson made the runoff in August in a crowded field that featured eight candidates. In August, Wilson received 33% of the vote, to Cothiere’s 21%, according to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections.

Wilson, a former public and charter school administrator, resigned from the Miami Gardens city council to run for the school board. Wilson focused on student performance, teacher compensation and facilities. She raised about $92,905 for her campaign and spent a little over $67,000. Her largest contribution was $20,000 from a personal loan made in the summer.

Cothiere, who is Haitian-American, is a longtime public school teacher. The candidate raised about $54,510 and total expenditures came to $45,344. She focused her campaign on preschool access, parental involvement and teacher empowerment. 

The race started after former School Board member Steve Gallon resigned to run for the Miami-Dade commission. Gallon, who had represented District 1 since 2016, endorsed Wilson.

The eight candidates had entered the race as schools face declining enrollment, competition from private school vouchers, charter schools and school closures. 

At a Miami-Dade NAACP candidate forum, the candidates criticized Florida’s “School of Hope” law. This allows for approved charter school operators to occupy underused and low performing public schools. 

Turnout in the county was far higher in November than in the August primary, which saw 240,456 voters (about 19%) of the county’s 1.28 million registered voters cast a ballot, versus 788,080 voters (about 61%) on Tuesday.

Brianna Duardo is a graduate of the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media at Florida International University in Miami, where she earned a degree in Digital Journalism.